So, I was watching So I Married an Axe Murderer the other night. This, in and of itself, is not uncommon. It’s a favourite film for me, and definitely my favourite Mike Myers movie. As I was watching it, I was thinking about how great the soundtrack is. I checked the credits, and, sure enough, I had the reason why. Danny Bramson was the music supervisor.

Danny Bramson, in case you’re not aware, is responsible for some truly unforgettable soundtracks. He’s perhaps best known for his work with Cameron Crowe. He worked on every Cameron Crowe movie from Say Anything up to Vanilla Sky. I often think that at least a part of my ambivalence toward Elizabethtown (aside from the fact that it’s just such a relentlessly dark film) is the fact that Danny wasn’t part of the soundtrack. His work on Jerry Maguire was incredible. He didn’t just use album cuts. He had to find the perfect version of a song like The Who’s Magic Bus, and it was the Live At Leeds version he put in. He makes that opening scene work so much more poignantly just by choosing the right song.

The So I Married an Axe Murderer soundtrack is as good as it gets. Both the original version of There She Goes, by The La’s, as well as a great cover by The Boo Radleys. Add to that Ned’s Atomic Dustbin singing the Bay City Rollers’ Saturday Night, and I’m in some sort of Music Nerd Heaven.

As for the movie itself, like I said, it’s my favourite Mike Myers movie. It’s one that I would love hearing more about. I’d love to learn more about the development process, what went on behind the scenes, etc. I always hold out hope for a Special Edition DVD (they released a Special Edition a few years back, but it’s a bare bones release. Just the movie. Not even a trailer so that they could say that there was A special feature), but it’s just not going to happen.

The making of that movie was a very difficult time for Myers. He and a friend did extensive rewriting of the original script, but the WGA arbitration process denied them any credit for doing so. Worse, Myers was making a movie in which he also played his character’s father, in a performance very much based on his real-life dad, not long after his father had passed away, an event from which he had not fully recovered. Between fighting for credit, trying to make the movie a better one, and then, to add insult to injury, having the movie flop, Myers looks at this as being a particularly dark time of his life, and has no interest in revisiting it.

The soundtrack though... it’s a beautiful thing! You can hear it here!